


that star of the waning summer

by Imestelomel



Series: the heat of love, the pulsing rush of longing, the lover's whisper [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Childhood Friends, Daggers, First Meetings, Gen, Greek Tim Drake, Hellhounds, Jason is the knight to the rescue, Motorcycles, Roman Jason Todd, Tim is the damsel in distress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 11:31:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16533791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imestelomel/pseuds/Imestelomel
Summary: The story of how Roman son of Mars Jason saved Greek son of Athena Tim from a hellhound and dragged him to Camp Half-Blood.(Includes Jason’s dagger, a lot of hero-worshipping on Tim’s part, and the gift of Jason in a leather jacket, that may or may not end up Tim’s.)





	that star of the waning summer

**Author's Note:**

> Ok... So I'm gonna come right out and admit this was meant to be a prompt fill from Jaytim Week Summer 2017 (Prompt: Campfire). I've just been bogged down with writer's block and terrible mental health and didn't ever complete this. But I'm posting the first half now, with the absolute, cross-my-heart promise that I'm going to finish the second half very soon. By the end of the year. If it's December 10th and you notice I haven't finished it, come yell at me on tumblr (imestelomel.tumblr.com) or spam me in the comments to 'FINISH IT ALREADY, GEEZ'. I give y'all full permission.
> 
> Anyway, consider this a prequel to _the griefs that fate assigns_.
> 
> Title derived from The Illiad by Homer

Tim had always known that he wasn’t quite _normal_.

Now, Tim knew that at the tender age of nine that kind of statement would seem overdramatic and oddly self-aware, but after careful examination of the facts over the years, he had concluded that his hypothesis was certainly confirmed.

Especially since he was currently being chased by what looked like a demon dog of death the size of a tank. But, hey, at least he had _physical proof_ now. It had been the one piece of data he’d needed to really seal the deal.

Tim’s feet slid beneath him on wet concrete as he scrambled to fit into a narrow alleyway, hoping he could shake off Clifford the big demon dog. He could hear the snarling pause behind him as the beast pawed between the walls to reach him, but he didn’t slow until he emerged on another street, surrounded by crumbling apartment buildings and flickering street lights.

Tim groaned. He had gotten turned around more than once, and now was certain he was hopelessly lost somewhere in Crime Alley. His parents were going to kill him if the dog from hell didn’t first. That is, after they killed him for sneaking out of the house in the first place, just so he could take some stupid pictures of Gotham at night. They really weren’t going to let him live it down.

The boy panted as he turned a corner, the humid air of the early Gotham summer settling in his lungs and clinging to his skin. He nearly sobbed with relief as he spied the tip of Wayne Tower in the skyline above the rooftops of the apartments. His parents knew Mr. Wayne. If he could just get into the building, he could find someone to call his parents and he could get home and just pretend that he hadn’t been chased by a crazy evil pupper. He knew it was far but if he could just keep ahead of the dog, get out of the gloomy streets…

Red eyes gleamed straight ahead and a rumbling growl shook the ground. Tim skidded to a stop, eyes wide with terror as the shape of the hound solidified from the shadows and stalked closer.

And then another pair of red eyes opened next to the first, the shadows taking a familiar shape as well.

A whine tore from Tim’s throat as he stumbled backward into a side alley, eyes never leaving the beasts in front of him. They were moving towards him slowly, and he thought they probably weren’t even worried about trying to catch him because there was no way he’d be able to get away. He wasn’t fast enough.

His heel slipped against the slick concrete, and he grunted as his back slammed against the brick wall of the apartment building around him. He glanced around, panicked, only to whimper when he realized he had cornered himself in a dead end. The huge dogs stopped a few feet away from him, their growls shaking through Tim’s chest.

Tim thought about closing his eyes, but he was too terrified to do even that. Oh, his parents would kill him if the dogs weren’t about to do it for them. He wondered if there would even be anything left of him for them to find after the hounds were done, or if they would forever think he had just tried to run away and been mugged or murdered, another tragic casualty of Gotham’s crime rate. His nails dug into the bricks behind him. Tim hoped it would be over quick.

“Hey, kibble breath!”

Tim’s head whipped up just in time to see a fire escape ladder race down and slam down _into_ the head of one of the dogs, which promptly exploded into a cloud of golden dust. Coughing, Tim squinted to look up at a dark-haired boy sliding down the ladder and landing solidly in the alley, clouds of that odd gold dust erupting from his feet and what looked like a solid gold dagger clutched in his right hand. Tim blinked. It couldn’t _actually_ be gold.

The other beast turned to snarl loudly at the newcomer, who simply grinned widely and crouched down into a defensive stance, dagger glowing in the dim light. Tim gulped, certain that in two seconds the stranger would be dog food.

The giant dog growled a deep, earth-shaking sound that shook Tim’s chest, and pounced, huge jaws aimed for the boy’s head.

Tim snapped his eyes closed and braced himself for the screams.

But they never came.

He dared to peek through trembling fingers to see the boy still alive, brandishing his dagger at the dog. With every snap of the beast’s jaws, the boy ducked and rolled away, springing back up to his feet to slash at the beast’s legs and head. Every move was like choreography, sure and practiced, and he couldn’t understand how someone could move so fast. It was surprising that he could even track the boy with his eyes.

“Come on, runt of the litter, I haven’t got all night!” The other boy laughed as his taunting urged the dog to snap and lunge, only to slam its head into the dumpster. Before the dog could recover, he took off in a sprint and slid between its legs, thrusting his dagger deep into its belly. As the beast burst into dust, just like the first one, the boy stood up and grimaced, shaking it out of his hair and dusting off the lapel of his black leather jacket. He paused and spun the gold dagger in his hand, which to Tim’s amazement, disappeared.

Tim figured now was the time to say something, or run away before something even more insane happened, but he was still frozen in fear. He flinched as the other boy turned towards him and squinted to make him out in the darkness.

“Hey, buddy, are you okay?” Tim could tell he was trying to put a soothing tone to his voice, but it wasn’t quite working on him. “I’m not gonna hurt you or anything, I just wanted to give you a hand with those hellhounds. Hello? Seriously, kid, you can come out now.”

“I’m not a kid!” Tim blurted out before he could help himself.

The boy laughed a bright sound that cut through the damp and dark of the alley. “Ok, ok, I won’t call you kid. Sorry.” He crouched down in front of Tim and held out a hand. “But I do need something to call you,” he said with a wiggle of an eyebrow.

Tim took the hand and let himself be tugged to his feet. “Um, my name’s Tim,” he mumbled.

“Tim, huh? Well, I’m Jason.” He shook his hand before grabbing his wrist and pulling him out onto the sidewalk. “So what were you doing trying to take on a couple of hellhounds by yourself? Do you even have a weapon?”

Tim was mortified when his bottom lip started to tremble. “I-I don’t even know what’s going on! I was just taking pictures and then this huge dog started chasing me and I got lost and then there were two of them and I just want to go home-“

“Whoa, it’s gonna be okay!” Jason pulled Tim down to sit next to him on the stoop of the building. “So...are you a Legacy? Like, were your parents in the Legion? Or are you more of the Greek persuasion?”

Tim sniffed. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jason groaned. “Oh, man, you’re unclaimed. This really complicates things.” He fiddled with a gold ring on his finger. “Okay, so, were you raised by a single parent?”

Tim frowned. “I don’t see why it matters, but no. I’ve always had my parents.”

The other boy hummed. “Okay, I’m about to say a bunch of stuff that might sound crazy, but seeing as you’ve been chased by giant dogs tonight that were trying to kill you, you’re gonna have to give me the benefit of the doubt, okay?”

Tim nodded.

“You’re a demigod, we’re heading to Camp Half-Blood, and no, I’m not high on LSD.”

Tim blinked.

Jason rolled his eyes, mumbling to himself about horrible phrasing. “So...one of your parents might not actually be your real parent, because one of your real parents is...a god. Now, hear me out,” he said in a rush when Tim moved to say something. “Those hellhounds tonight, they would only be chasing a demigod, or a kid of a god and a regular Joe mortal, and the reason I know that is because I’m one, too. And sometimes your godly parent is your mom or your dad, but what matters is there are places for us to go where we can be safe from monsters like the ones chasing you earlier. Following me so far?”

Tim just nodded dumbly. On one hand, Jason was clearly touched in the head. On the other hand, something about what Jason was saying was just... _clicking_.

Jason smiled. “Alright. So. The gods are Greek and Roman; kind of like split personalities for some of them, but there’s also a few gods that exist on the Greek but not the Roman side and vice versa. I’m a Roman demigod, but there’s no way I can tell what kind you are until you’re claimed by your godly parent, which usually happens at Camp. I can’t get you to the Roman Camp, but the Greek one is nearby if you want to go there. They’d be able to help you figure it out.”

Tim stared at him. “I...I don’t know. My parents are probably worried about me. And I’m already lost.”

Jason shrugged. “Camp Half-Blood could probably figure out a way to convince your parents to let you stay. I mean, at least _one_ of your parents knows you’re a demigod already.” At Tim’s lack of reaction, he pressed on. “If it were me, I’d go, at least for a bit. That way you can learn how to defend yourself, and figure out just who you are.”

Tim mulled over it for a moment. Jason was right, this could give him answers to things he’d always wondered about. He also wouldn’t be completely helpless if the hellhounds came back. (He shivered at the thought.) “So...you would go with me?”

Jason grinned at him and tossed an arm around his shoulders. “Sure! Well, I can travel with you, but I can’t really stay there. Greeks and Romans are divided into their own Camps. But I’d definitely make sure you’re all safe and settled before I come back home.”

Tim allowed himself to be pulled further down the street under the light of the streetlamps, thankful for the gentle nudges and guidance that kept him from freezing in place again and falling apart. Everything was starting to feel a bit shuddery and dreamlike, but even so, Tim felt like this moment might be the most real point of time in his life so far. His shoulders relaxed a fraction, the tension bleeding out under the heat of skin-warm leather. He wasn’t sure who Jason was or what was going on, but his gut was telling him to trust him, at least for now.

“So, how are we getting to the camp place?”

 

* * *

 

 His gut was wrong.

“No,” Tim said firmly, shaking his head and stepping away from the death machine. “There is no way I’m getting on that _thing_ with _you_.”

Jason groaned. “C’mon, Timmy, it’s perfectly safe.” He opened a compartment in the red and black motorbike to pull out a second helmet and hold it out to the boy.

“It is not perfectly safe!” Tim squeaked. “Those things are dangerous, and there’s no way you’re old enough to have a license, but I’m just supposed to trust that you can drive that thing?! And my name is _Tim_ ,” he huffed, crossing his arms to hide the intermittent trembling.

Jason sighed and slouched down, clearly trying to put himself directly in Tim’s line of sight. “Look, I know everything’s weird and confusing and you’re like two seconds from passing out from the shock, but you’ve gotta trust me here. I know how to drive this bike. I do it all the time.”

Tim eyed him skeptically. “How do you even have one to drive?”

The other boy paused. “My...guardian gave it to me as a gift. He knows all about demigods and monsters and stuff, so he makes sure I’ve got the tools to get around.” He gently pried Tim’s arms apart and placed the helmet in his hands. “I’ll keep you safe, ok? I’m not just saying it.”

Tim gripped the helmet tightly. “Promise?”

He could tell he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes, but Jason relented and met Tim’s eyes with complete sincerity shining through. “I promise, I’ll keep you safe.”

Tim nodded, feeling as if something had clenched in his chest at the sight of such honesty in Jason’s blue eyes, and quickly shoved the helmet on, which suspiciously fit like a glove. Jason reached over to pull the face shield up and chuckled as he tapped on the side. “Doesn’t look half bad on you, Timbers.” Tim blushed, face thankfully mostly obscured, as Jason cocked his head to the side in contemplation. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and held it out to him. “Here, put this on, too. It’s only going to get colder on the road and you’re already shivering like a Chihuahua.” He flipped the face shield back down before Tim could react and moved to put his own helmet on.

Tim frowned ineffectively from inside the helmet but put the jacket on as he was told. It was an instant relief as he was surrounded by warmth, and he grudgingly admitted to himself that he had been a little cold.

Jason stepped closer to the motorbike and swung a leg over easily, which at least minimally reassured Tim that he had done it before. “C’mon, you’re just gonna sit behind me and hold on. Make sure your feet are on the pegs and if I lean in a certain direction just move with me.”

The bike roared to life and Tim jumped, surprised by the sheer volume of the engine. Jason nodded reassuringly. The younger boy slowly approached the bike and clambered on, automatically wrapping his arms tight around Jason’s waist, and with a roar, they were off, the dark and empty streets of Gotham flying past them.


End file.
